As new students who come to Eastern realize, their academic career here starts with community service.

From the point of view of the freshman class, the community service appears to start with JumpStart 2 G.I.V.E, but if they were paying close attention, they would have seen that from the moment they got to Eastern on move-in day, there was community service going on all around them.

With Panther Pals helping student’s move-in from day one, the campus culture of volunteering is clear to behold.

No, we are not saying that every day is a day you need to go out and volunteer. More appropriately, we encourage you to volunteer, because we know its value.

As Rachel Fisher, the Director of Student Community Service, will tell you, when you give back, it is on average worth more than $20 an hour. Every time.

Outside of the monetary benefits, it feels good to give back.

We understand that you may not feel comfortable going out to a soup kitchen by yourself and serving food, but that is not your only volunteering opportunity.

You can grab a friend and head over to the Coles County Animal Shelter, or you can go to Douglas-Hart and do outdoor work on their 70 acres of prairie land.

Volunteering is not limited to what is already out there as community service.

If you have an idea that you think could turn into a volunteer opportunity and you go into the student life office, they will help you develop a service opportunity.

From the effort you put forth, we believe that you will not only improve the community that you belong to here at Eastern, you will become a part of the Charleston community as a whole.

By volunteering, you will get to know the Charleston community.

You have the chance to become part of the city you live in, and we believe that it is not just your right, but also your adult responsibility to do so.

You are part of a very small world population that is even able to gain a college education, and as such you are considered adults.

If you don’t think of yourself as an adult we aren’t saying that you have to grow up now. But there is an expectation that you are going to grow up and volunteering is a great way to develop in that direction.

The earth gives you life. Not directly of course, but without a world to live on you wouldn’t exist. So help clean up this earth.

Not only should you give back to the world, but to the people on it. There have been people in your life there to help you along the way.

Volunteer by helping in someone else’s life. Pass on the love you have been given.

The point we are trying to make is simple. Few people can live every day locked in their room and expect to have great memories of their life.

Rather, go out and give back, become someone to someone else.